If a well-informed and trusted authority said you had to change your lifestyle, such as diet, exercise and mental approaches to stress, or you would die much sooner than necessary, would you change?
Before you say, “of course,” think about this: according to many research studies, if you are like nine out of 10 people, you would find it so hard to adopt new habits that you would give up and die.
Want proof?
About two million North Americans with heart disease have either bypass surgery or angioplasties every year. Their arteries usually clog up again within a few months to a few years unless they make lifestyle changes. However, 90 percent of the patients don’t make the necessary lifestyle changes.
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Why is it so hard for us to change? Partly because we believe these myths, which were reported in a recent issue of Fast Company magazine:
Myth: Crisis is a big motivator for change.
Reality: Crisis may cause short-term adjustments, but it does not sustain long-term change.
Myth: Change is sustained by fear.
Reality: Fear is too hard to endure on a long-term basis, so we slip into denial and go back to our old ways. The crisis passes and we hope it doesn’t happen again.
Myth: The facts will convince us to change.
Reality: We really make decisions by stories and emotions. If the facts don’t jibe with our view of the world, we reject them. “My mind is made up, don’t confuse me with facts.”
Myth: Small, gradual changes are easiest to sustain.
Reality: Big, sweeping changes are often easier, because we see benefits soon enough to get the positive reinforcement we need to keep going.
Myth: As we get older our brains won’t accept changes. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Reality: Brain research shows we can change at any age. The key is to continue learning new things, which keeps our brains flexible. When we want to change, we have to “carve a new neural pathway” in our brains.
In the early 1990s, Dr. Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California, designed a vegetarian-based diet he said could reverse heart disease without surgery or drugs. The medical establishment was skeptical, so Ornish persuaded Mutual of Omaha to fund a research trial. He put 333 patients with severely clogged arteries into a holistic program that included his diet as well as regular support group, meetings and instruction in meditation, relaxation, yoga and aerobic exercise.
After three years, 77 percent of the patients were still following the program and had avoided angioplasties or bypasses. It saved Mutual of Omaha about $30,000 per patient.
Here’s why it worked:
- Ornish helped patients get a positive picture of their future. Fear of death is not as strong a motivator as the pull of a desirable future.
- He made sweeping changes in their diets, which brought immediate results Ñ 91 percent fewer chest pains in the first month. He said people who make moderate changes to their diet are worse off. They feel deprived and don’t see much change.
- He gave patients wide-ranging help, such as support groups and consultations with dietitians, psychologists and meditation instructors.
Do you want to make a change for the better on your farm? Try this:
- As a family, talk about, and write down, what you want in your lives. This is the picture of a positive future that will help you change.
- Now look at every aspect of your home and business life and determine which are helping you get where you want to go. Drop the ones that aren’t helping.
- Make a yearly financial plan and monitor as you go to see whether things are working the way you thought they would. If not, replan.
- Get together with others who want to make changes for the better and form a management club that meets monthly for mutual support.
Within a year, you will have made changes that will keep you moving forward. Guaranteed.
As the Chinese saying goes, if we don’t change direction, we’ll end up where we’re headed.
Edmonton-based Noel McNaughton speaks at conventions and for corporations on Farming/Ranching at Midlife Ñ Strategies for a Successful Second Age. He can be reached at 780-432-5492, e-mail noel@midlife-men.com or visit www.midlife-men.com.
